


The Moon Pulls at his Bones

by FrenchKey



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alive Aiden, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Angst with a Happy Ending, Feral Lambert (The Witcher), M/M, Werewolf Aiden, aiden lives, werewolf lambert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29119182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrenchKey/pseuds/FrenchKey
Summary: The moon pulls at his bones, at the hollow place inside him. It creeps closer and closer to the horizon. Soon, it will rise. Soon, he will have to face himself.Aiden hears about a wolf in distress and rides to the rescue.
Relationships: Aiden/Lambert (The Witcher)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 59
Collections: The Witcher Flash Fic Challenge #014





	The Moon Pulls at his Bones

**Author's Note:**

> I saw the prompt for this challenge and couldn't not do werewolves. Thank you to the usual suspects for the assist.

_He watches the door swing shut, thumping home into the frame. The bolts snick closed and he is trapped._

* * *

Aiden squinted at the noticeboard with his good eye. There wasn’t much. No contracts. The only thing he could see was a notice about a lost dog with a reward of five orens. He sighed at himself and checked the name of the owner. Brigid, living in the house with the green door. It was certainly a small enough village that finding the house wouldn’t be difficult.

He was right, it wasn’t difficult. The house sat on the edge of the village, back door opening almost directly into the forest. He knocked gently on the door. He could smell bread baking and hear someone pattering about in the kitchen. A bowl was set down and footsteps pattered through the house. An adult. There was at least one other heartbeat, high and fast. A child, maybe two. It was hard to tell. There were a couple of walls in the way.

A harried looking woman of about thirty opened the door, dusting her floured hands onto her apron. She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. 

“Are you Brigid?” he asked, proffering the notice. “I’m here about the dog.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m Terese, Brigid’s my daughter. The dog’s a mangy mongrel but she loves it. I didn’t have the heart to tell her it’s probably been got by a wolf or summat. There was that one that came through last week. Near to feral he was. Asked if there was somewhere safe as we could lock him up for the moon. Right scary bastard he was. Looked right mean with his scars and his two swords.”

* * *

_He paces the cell. Five steps forward. Turn. Five steps back. Turn. Five steps forward. Turn. He doesn’t look at the last fading rays of light that peek through the cracks in the boards._

* * *

In the end, the dog wasn’t hard to find. He’d run off into the forest, probably chasing a rabbit, and ended up caught in a hunter’s snare. He was fine, if a little hungry. Aiden freed him and carried him back to the house. Little Brigid ran out to meet him and immediately began to fuss. 

Once he’d divested himself of the dog, Aiden turned to Terese and fixed her with a look. 

“I found your daughter’s dog,’ he said, ‘Now, I think you promised me some information.”

* * *

_The moon pulls at his bones, at the hollow place inside him. It creeps closer and closer to the horizon. Soon, it will rise. Soon, he will have to face himself._

* * *

The horse’s hooves threw up clods of dirt as they cantered along the track to the next town. Aiden was bent low over his neck, urging him faster. It was nearly nightfall and, desperate as he was, Aiden wasn’t about to risk his mount on the uneven road in full dark. He would have to stop.

Two days. The next town was two days ride. The moon would rise tomorrow. He _had_ to make it before then. 

“C’mon Strider,” he murmured into his horse’s neck, “C’mon, boy. We can do it.”

Strider had been with him for years now and he was a sturdy, reliable beast. Aiden didn’t want to lose him, but he needed to be there before the next moonrise. If he was right… If it was who he thought it was… If there was even the _slightest_ chance… Well, he’d give up more than a horse for that. He’d give up anything.

He urged Strider on, into the deepening twilight.

* * *

_The moon rises. He whines, deep in his throat as it pulls him. It’s too low to force the change and he resists. It hurts. It will hurt more soon. Still, he holds on._

* * *

The Alderman’s house was scarcely bigger or grander than any other in the town, but it was still relatively easy to find. Aiden swung down from Strider and pounded on the door, heedless of the lengthening shadows. The sun was dipping towards the horizon. No doubt the man and his family would be sitting down to supper. He didn’t care. He banged on the door again. 

Footsteps clomped up the hall and the door was wrenched open. The man was tall, though not as tall as Aiden, and didn’t look happy to be disturbed.

“Can I help you, Witcher?” he grumbled.

“Has there been a wolf here recently?” Aiden asked, skipping over all pleasantries. “One that asked for somewhere secure for the night?”

“Aye,” the man drawled, eyebrows drawn together, “Has he done summat to warrant the involvement of a Witcher, like? Seemed like a perfectly decent bloke to me. Haunted, mind, but what wolf that wants secured isn’t haunted by summat?”

“I’m not here to harm him,” Aiden assured him, “I’m here to help him. I know him. Please. Where is he?”

The Alderman stared at him for several long heartbeats. Aiden’s breath was caught in his chest and he couldn’t release it until the man nodded.

“Aye, I’ll take you to him. Come on then.”

* * *

_He can’t resist any longer. The moon calls him. It digs into his bones and pulls. The hollow place inside him grows and grows and eats him up. He throws his head back and howls. He twists and changes and loses himself._

* * *

Aiden scrambled toward the hut on the hill as he heard Lambert’s howl echo across the still air. It was the howl of a wolf that had lost everything. It resonated with hurt and loss and pain. It dragged at the wolf in Aiden, trying to pull it to the surface. He resisted. The pull of the moon was strong, but he was stronger. His mate was within his reach and he needed opposable thumbs to get to him. 

He slammed into the door of the hut, scrabbling at the bolts, hauling them back. He could hear Lambert inside, whining and howling and clawing at the door. He’d be able to smell Aiden. He’d know he was there. Hopefully it wasn’t too late. Hopefully he’d not already lost himself to the wolf in his grief. 

The bolts came free at last and the door bounced on its hinges as Aiden wrenched it from the outside and Lambert slammed into it from the inside. In seconds Lambert was on him, huge and russet furred. Aiden let him bowl him over, landing hard on his back. Lambert shoved his cold wet nose into his neck and Aiden laughed.

“Well, hello there, sweetheart,’ Aiden said.

* * *

_The change washes over him, pulling him apart. He drops to all four legs and draws breath to howl and snarl. A scent reaches his nose. Mate. MATE. Mate mate mate! He scrabbles and scratches at the wood between them until it moves and then he’s rushing forward. Mate. His mate is here. Everything is right again._

* * *

They woke up in the morning, tangled together on the bed. Lambert was half-crushing Aiden under his bulk and had his hand wrapped tight in Aiden’s tunic. Aiden didn’t really mind. He just rolled over as much as he could to press a kiss to the tip of Lambert’s nose.

“I thought you were dead, you fucker,” Lambert grumbled, his anger barely masking his worry and grief.

“Takes more than that to kill me. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere,” Aiden said.

“Too right you’re not.”

The sun was high in the sky before they rode out of town, side by side once more.

**Author's Note:**

> I would love and cherish any comments or kudos you feel like tossing my way. Work is kicking my ass and validation is wonderful.


End file.
